


The Cold and the Warm

by Anonymous



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Age Difference, M/M, Suggestive Themes, i have no tags for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:09:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29050422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: A very short vaguely-romantic BarneyBreen one-shot. It's SFW but does imply some things.
Relationships: The Administrator | Dr. Wallace Breen/Barney Calhoun
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: Anonymous





	The Cold and the Warm

It was cold in the citadel. That was something Barney Calhoun learned quickly. No matter the season, it was cold in the citadel.  
He had volunteered on behalf of the resistance, to work as a 'Civil Protection officer', to work for the Combine to control city 17, while relaying back information at the same time. It was thankless work but he knew it would lead to something great in the future. He could sense it coming.

The sun had set, the sky darkening and chilling the atmosphere even further with the oncoming night. At this late hour, he only wanted to sleep, but he was suddenly being called up to the tallest point of the citadel, right to the administrator's office.  
Dr Wallace Breen, the administrator, watched closely from across his infamous wooden desk as he entered. There was a pause as the two stood a fair distance apart in the gloom. No other CP stood guard in the room, nor any Overwatch soldiers - just the two of them standing while the wind whistled by outside.

"Take off your mask officer." Barney hesitated a moment. The combine handbook demanded the mask remained on at all times, and he glanced over at the towering array of monitors behind cautiously. The administrator noticed the pause and frowned slightly,

"Calhoun. That's an order."  
He flinched under the uniform at the sound of his name. With one hand he slowly pulled down the mask, releasing slightly unkept hair and stubble in need of a shave. Breen didn't seem to notice, smiling over his glasses with his hands steepled together.

"Yes... Barney Calhoun. I'm sure you remember me, right?"  
Of course he did. At the end of the seven hour war, Breen's face had been plastered across the world, announcing an 'ally-ship' with the combine, if it could even be called that. But he sensed that was not what the old man was referring to. He had know Breen, back in Black Mesa. They spoke often, surprisingly often for his lowly position in the facility - somehow he came across the administrator alone so often in those fluorescent halls. He had led him to his office on some of those occasions. The things they had done in his office...  
It had been nearly four years since the incident. So much had happened, it was overwhelming. But he remembered.

“Yes sir.” He replied simply, nodding lightly. He watched as Breen gently pulled off his glasses and settled those square frames on his desk with slender fingers.

"Come closer." He demanded, voice low, staring him down. Barney found himself obeying, a flush rising up his neck. One hand reached out and gently grasped his uniform sleeve but he didn't pull away. Cautiously, Calhoun pulled off the thick civil protection gloves, and put his own hand on Wallace's. He felt the back of it, skin still as smooth as he remembered. He met no objection to the touch, and his hand brushed upwards to the older man's shoulder, while Breen's snaked down to his waist.

"Why don't you stay with me for something tonight Calhoun. For old time's sake." The Administrators eyes bore right through him, a tight smirk on his lips. Barney nodded back, gaze cast down and face warm. He'd fallen for that strong stern tone back then, and now that he was close, he was falling for it again.

As two pale hands grasped his waist, guiding him closer, he leaned forward, closed his eyes and relaxed into the warmth. It was a pleasant enough place to spend the night, he thought, away from chilly CP dorms or that cold hidey hole.  
He had a scheduled covert call with the resistance in the morning but... he figured they wouldn't miss him, just one time.

**Author's Note:**

> I coulda made something romantic with a different pairing, but no I just had to do this.  
> I was gonna make this a kind of character study/insight into toxic relationships, by making it a mix of wholesome and creepy, but I got tired and couldn't get out the ideas I wanted, so have this mess :)


End file.
